Tyra Banks is a proud mom to her son York and life couldn’t be better for the model.
While it hasn’t been easy making her dream come true to have a little one who she welcomed in January of 2016 with partner Erik Asla, now that she has become a mom, everything is all good.
After sharing the first full photo of her child on Father’s Day, here are some things to know about the America’s Next Top Model’s road to motherhood.
1. She welcomed son York via gestational surrogate.
Using a gestational surrogate means that the embryo is made of the mother’s egg and fertilized with the father’s sperm then transferred into the uterus of the surrogate. The child, once born, has the genetic makeup of both the mother and father making them one big biological family!
2. She’s dealt with fertility issues.
The former supermodel has been vocal about her battle with trying to conceive. In 2015 she told PEOPLE that she had undergone two IVF treatments with hopes for success.
“When you’re like, ‘OK, I’m just going to do it,’ then it’s not so easy as you get older.’ I’ve had some not happy moments with that, very traumatic moments,” she says. “It’s difficult as you get older. It’s not something that can just happen.”
3. She’s always wanted to adopt.
“After York was born, I was planning more children but it’s not so easy for me because I couldn’t carry my son, and I didn’t want to keep putting chemicals into my body,”she told The Telegraph. “I might adopt one day – I’ve always wanted to adopt, actually.”
4. She wants to be the “cool mom.”
“I don’t just want one child,” she has said in the past. “I want a litter! And I want to be the kind of mom where my child can come to me for anything.”